service techs. One Weber employee, Tim
Brueseke, even earned designation as one of only 20 world-class trained
mechanics in the entire state.

Then there is the on-site collisionrepair, which utilizes the latest
computerized equipment to return vehicles to like-new condition, and
color-match myriad paints and finishes. The ten-bay shop, like Weber’s
service department, is one of the area’s preferred auto repair facilities by
insurance providers and consumers.

Weber’s ample parts department –spanning
25,000 square feet, stocks over $2.5 million in inventory. Not only does it
function filling orders in-house, but also supplies auto body and service
shops throughout Missouri and southern Illinois with OEM parts, sending out
eight delivery trucks at least twice daily, as well as servicing DIY
customers through walk-up counter sales. If that sounds like a sizable outlay
for equipment and parts, it is. Yet Kastner says, “The investment in
equipment is an investment in the customer.”

Weber Chevrolet

West
County dealership is one of the largest in Missouri

BY BETH Wade

Contributing Writer

WHILE THE OVERALL ECONOMY

CHALLENGES BUSINESSES

to offer a full complement of services to
customers, Weber
Chevrolet is accomplishing the task.

This 107 year-old Chevy-only auto
retailer, familiarly located at 12015 Olive Boulevard at I-270 in Creve Coeur
for the past 40 years, offers Metro area drivers a virtual one stop shop for
almost every auto need: sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, a huge selection
of certified GM parts, right down to the nitty-gritty of service repairs and
a collision center equipped to work on virtually all General Motors’ brands.
Why? “Our goal is simple,” states Paul Kastner, general manager, “To give
customers the best experience.”

According to Kastner, Weber Chevrolet
made the commitment to be customer focused when the company was still known
as Weber Implement (circa 1902). Since then, that focus has resulted in
growth, expansion, and a dedication to stay on the cusp of technology. Today,
Weber Chevrolet is one of the largest sellers of Chevrolet cars and trucks in
the state of Missouri and services approximately 100 vehicles daily in its
football-sized service department, where every Weber technician is trained
and certified. “It’s almost like becoming a doctor,” said Kastner of the vast
training experience characterizing the dealership’s 28

“Bottom
line, our success is ourVis-a-vis,
there’s a human factor, people,” stated Kastner.Kastner says the long tenured employee base
is characterized by hard-working, caring individuals. “This is my life,”
stated a smiling Tom Hornsey, assistant parts manager. With Weber for 37
years, he’s witnessed company growth firsthand. “Back in the day, the parts
department won an award for selling $1 million in a single year.

Today,
we sell a million a month.” With more than 78,000 parts in stock Hornsey says
there’s a good chance the part is available. A cursory tour reveals row after
row of crash and mechanical GM certified parts. But while Hornsey and his 21
parts department co-workers may need to keep phone numbers of close friends
on a speed dial, they’ve got the names and numbers of longtime clients
memorized. Some of whom they’ve worked with for more than three decades. The
other departments have similar stories. “Customers ask for us all by name,”
Hornsey explained. Salesdata

even
supports that Weber, operating four Chevy retail/service centers within 20
miles of each other(Creve Coeur,
Columbia, IL, Granite City and Waterloo)sells, on average, one in every four
Chevrolets

on Metro
area roadways.

Tony Ziegler, generals sales manager added
there’s a great inventory of new and pre-owned cars, trucks and SUV’s on hand
at the 15 acre Creve Coeur site and noted Weber Chevrolet offers extended
hours in all departments to mesh with customer schedules. But after all, he
says the opportunity to satisfy driver’s automotive needs—on their schedule
and at one address, is the point. For more information, visit in persons,
online, www.weberchevrolet.netor
phone (314) 567-3300.

LEFT: Weber Chevroletin Creve Coeur.

BELOW:

Weber’s highly respected partsdepartment countermen

It’s almost like becoming a doctor,” said Kastner of the vast training
experience characterizing the dealership’s 28 service techs.